{"id":11491,"date":"2016-12-20T13:26:09","date_gmt":"2016-12-20T13:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:#clients.elainemichele.com\/SPC2022\/?p=11491"},"modified":"2022-11-12T07:56:53","modified_gmt":"2022-11-12T12:56:53","slug":"spc_in_action_1491","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/clients.elainemichele.com\/SPC2022\/articles\/spc_in_action_1491\/","title":{"rendered":"SPC in Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

Come Together at Plowshares! December 3-4<\/b><\/p>\n

At this time of year when the night is lengthening, the Plowshares Craftsfair and Peace Festival lights up our hearts and spirits. Plowshares is Central New York\u2019s premier multicultural craftsfair, celebrating a world where people enjoy their work and have control over it. It is a marketplace both of ideas and beautiful handmade items, a community gathering of people who hope and work for a better world.<\/p>\n

It features 110 local craftspeople and 20 community groups. You\u2019ll find clothing, jewelry, ceramics, decorative objects, herbal medicines and more. When you need a break from shopping, enjoy the ongoing live entertainment, savor the tasty food from The Mission restaurant, or just hang out with old and new friends.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the fun of exploring the SPC Marketplace (featuring an array of peace and social justice books, calendars, T-shirts, stickers, buttons and more), buying raffle tickets and bidding on SPC silent auction items.<\/p>\n

Plowshares is SPC\u2019s biggest fundraiser. Volunteers and the staff collective are bustling to get ready, and the weekend itself needs many more volunteers. You can help even now by getting the word out\u2014post flyers (PNL subscribers have one enclosed), tell your friends, post on social media or put a lawn sign in your yard. Contact Carol if you can help in any way.<\/p>\n

So mark your calendars: SPC\u2019s 46th annual Plowshares Craftsfair and Peace Festival is at Nottingham High School (3100 E. Genesee St., Syracuse) from 10 am-5 pm on Saturday, December 3 and 11 am-5 pm on Sunday, December 4. Entry is sliding scale $2-5 (more if you can, less if you can\u2019t), with under 16 and over 65 free. We look forward to seeing you there!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
The 2015 Plowshares Craftsfair. Photo: Mike Greenlar.<\/i><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

6 Ways to Get Active with SPC Right Now<\/b>
\nJoin a community of activists dedicated to peace and social justice! There are so many ways to connect-both through the issues we focus on and the \u201cbusiness\u201d of running an organization. Here are but a few (visit SPC\u2019s website for more):<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Volunteer for a work shift at the Plowshares Craftsfair (December 3-4).<\/li>\n
  • Adopt a Plowshares lawnsign for your front yard.<\/li>\n
  • Come to the trial of the \u201cBig Book\u201d Drone Resisters November 29 (see this page).<\/li>\n
  • Contact Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON) to learn how to help with Standing Rock (the organizing changes quickly so it\u2019s hard to be more specific, see page 9).<\/li>\n
  • Come into the office once a week to do whatever needs doing that day.<\/li>\n
  • Be on call for video and editing work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

     <\/p>\n

    NOON<\/b>
    \nThis Thanksgiving, November 24, at 10 am, Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON) invites you to a gathering on the Onondaga Lake Shoreline at Willow Bay Picnic Area. Join us for this Circle of Peace and Hope, to share in gratitude and friendship with the Onondaga people, as we work together for justice and Earth\u2019s healing.<\/p>\n

    This month at the Syracuse Film Festival, NOON tabled at a showing of The Good Mind, a film featuring the Onondaga Nation people, history and culture. NOON then tabled at the Concert and Benefit Rally in support of Standing Rock Water Protectors, hosted by the Nation at their new Fieldhouse, Tsha\u2019 Tho\u00f1\u2019nhes. We also collected money at SPC\u2019s Birthday Dinner, which we have given to the Onondaga to bring to Standing Rock. (To read more, see cover article.)<\/p>\n

    We are also eager to soon start presenting a new experiential workshop: \u201cWitness to Injustice: Unraveling Native and US Relations.\u201d Contact Carol.<\/p>\n


    \n<\/b><\/p>\n

    \u201cBig Books\u201d Drone Resisters Trial in November<\/b>
    \nTuesday, November 29 is the trial for most of the Hancock drone resisters who had participated in the \u201cBig Books\u201d action at Hancock Air Base on March 19, 2015, the 12th year since the US invasion of Iraq. Please come in support! The trial is scheduled for 5 pm at the Town of Dewitt court (5400 Butternut Dr., East Syracuse)\u2014call SPC first to make sure the time hasn\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n

    The nonviolent action blockaded Hancock\u2019s main gate with a giant copy of the UN Charter and three other giant books\u2014Dirty Wars (Jeremy Scahill), Living Under Drones (NYU and Stanford Law Schools), and You Never Die Twice (Reprieve).<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"Large<\/p>\n
    Bev Rick of NYC helping two of the big books blockade the main entrance of Hancock Air Base in Syracuse.<\/i><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Street Heat\u2019s New Schedule<\/b>
    \nAs the days become shorter and the weather more chill, Street Heat goes from twice a week to the first Tuesday of the month.<\/p>\n

    At least monthly since 2010, we have been demonstrating outside Hancock Air Base to call for an end to the illegal and immoral killing of human beings by the weaponized Reaper drones. In calling for an end to the militarism dominating US foreign policy, we want Hancock base personnel to rethink their role in that killing machine and to remind the public of all the killing in our name.<\/p>\n

    Please join us.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Early winter Street Heats: <\/span>
    \nDecember 6 and January 10, 4:15-5pm.<\/i>
    \nHancock Air Base main entrance (E. Molly Rd. between Thompson & Townline Rds.).
    \nContact Ann or Ed, (315) 478-4571.
    \n(To learn more about street heat, see article on page 8.)<\/p>\n

    \""NO<\/div>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Birthday Dinner<\/b>
    \nThe Birthday Dinner was a great success. Medea Benjamin\u2019s talk urging boycott and divestment from the weapons industry and action against the alliance between US and Saudi Arabia was hard-hitting and thorough. Medea, a longtime anti-war disruptor and co-founder of Code Pink, is on tour promoting her new book, Kingdom of the Unjust.<\/p>\n

    Dozens of SPC members were crucial to the success of the dinner, from cooking the delicious food to setup to taking responsibility for table settings and washing dishes. The menu was chosen for accessibility, with vegan and gluten-free basic courses, and items that could be added for different dietary needs and preferences. The Birthday Dinner is one of the few times a year all of the Peace Council can come together.<\/p>\n

    \"Guest<\/p>\n
    Guest speaker Madea Benjamin answers questions at SPC’s 80th Birthday Dinner. Photo: Aubrey Moore.<\/i><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
    \"SPC<\/p>\n
    SPC interns Xochitl Santamaria and Marlon Calliste staff the door at SPC’s birthday dinner. Photo: Aubrey Moore.<\/i><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Activist Appreciation\u2014Diane Swords<\/b>
    \nThis writer\u2019s biggest surprise in composing this was that Diane Swords had not been appreciated in these pages before! Diane is the complete activist\/political analyst\/organizer\u2014in every aspect of her life she shows her passionate commitment to peace and social justice.<\/p>\n

    Diane has been a dedicated organizer for peace and nuclear disarmament since the early 1980s when she marched with over one million people in the streets of New York City as part of the Nuclear Freeze Campaign. For many years, Diane was a lead organizer with Peace Action CNY, having served as the organization\u2019s staff person and Co-Chair, and she helped facilitate Peace Action\u2019s merging with the Peace Council. Today, she is an active member of the Nuclear Free World Committee and the SPC Steering Committee. Recently, she was instrumental in organizing the Peace Picnic to commemorate the bombing of Hiroshima.<\/p>\n

    Among her countless activist superpowers, Diane is particularly attentive to helping new activists feel welcome at events and meetings. You may have seen Diane\u2019s writing in the Peace Newsletter, sharing updates about US nuclear weapons policy. Far from a single issue activist, Diane is active organizing against Islamophobia on the Syracuse University campus, can be often be found performing with the Syracuse Community Choir, is dedicated to dialogue and is participating in the new local chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace. Thank you, Diane for sharing your skills and passions to help build a more compassionate community!<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \n
    \n
    \"Diane<\/p>\n
    Diane Swords holds a peace sign aloft during a protest of Donald Trump’s visit to Syracuse in April. Photo: Ray Trudell.<\/i><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    $ Fall Fund Appeal<\/b>
    \nIf you didn\u2019t receive the Fall Fund Appeal letter but feel strongly that the mission of the Peace Council is a necessary one, please consider donating. Call us at 472-5478 if you are considering donating or increasing your pledge.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Anti-Racism Solidarity Campaign<\/b>
    \nPeace Council members participated in ACTS\u2019 Rally for Justice on October 30 at Tucker Missionary Baptist Church, demanding public officials support universal Pre-K, a ban on landlords denying potential tenants due to source of income (which is often used as a cover for discrimination against people with disabilities and people of color), an end to solitary confinement of youth in the county jail (almost exclusively children of color), and an end to imprisoning youth with adults.<\/p>\n

    The campaign will continue to find ways to resist structural racism, especially in CNY, and working with other resisting groups. To get involved, contact Brian.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Nuclear Free World<\/b>
    \nThe world needs you! Here are five easy ways you can support a nuclear free world:<\/p>\n